Since the Duke was unmarried, people tended to attach all sorts of meanings to even a single letter from him. And her nanny was clearly one of those people.

Her eyes sparkled so intensely with desire to know the contents that it was almost burdensome.

“…It’s not at all what you’re expecting, nanny.”

“What? What am I expecting?”

“You know. The vulgar stuff.”

“Vulgar stuff? I have no idea what you’re talking about?”

“Things like romance and attraction.”

“Oh my, I wasn’t expecting anything like that at all, though?”

Lies. How could she say she wasn’t expecting anything with such sparkling eyes?

“What does it say then?”

“I thought you weren’t expecting anything, so why ask?”

“Expecting something and being curious are different.”

Hmm, that’s true actually.

“He asked for a favor.”

“What?”

“He asked if I could look at something related to the Arlesian language.”

“Oh my, really? So His Grace has invited you?”

The nanny’s eyes sparkled even more.

“No, he said it’s not for personal purposes.”

“It’s entirely personal, what do you mean? Someone of His Grace’s standing must know so many experts. Yet he specifically requested you?”

“……”

While she couldn’t agree with the personal purpose part, she strongly agreed about the expert-related comment.

Of course, this was only possible because Saena couldn’t objectively assess her own skills in the Arlesian language. But even if she had known, she would have still found it surprising. To seek consultation from a young girl whose skills hadn’t been verified anywhere…

His position was extremely high, and any famous scholar would gladly accept his request.

‘When I was obsessively focused on this before, nothing happened, but now that I’m consciously trying to do less, more connections seem to form.’

Was it an urgent request?

When she sent a reply, the Duke’s response came back immediately, saying he would like her to visit as soon as possible.

It also contained subtle mentions about letting her see Arles-Promesa items and Morev, which made her somewhat suspicious. It was almost like he was dangling a carrot as a reward…

‘Surely someone of ducal rank wouldn’t do that…’

If this had happened in her previous life, Saena would have been rolling around the entire room, jumping for joy.

“Kyaah! I can see Morev up close!”

“I might even get to touch it!”

“Ancient artifacts of House Kramer! I wonder what they have! I’m so curious!”

She would have been bragging to Yuri about everything while screaming excitedly.

Life is so ironic.

“You think so too, don’t you, Yolly?”

Saena smiled slightly and stroked Yolly’s forehead. As it rubbed its head against her palm, seeming to agree with her words, she petted it more enthusiastically.

* * *

The Duke sent a carriage secretly.

Though it looked sturdy, it was a carriage without any family crests or distinguishing features that would make it easy to identify. However, once inside, the attention to detail was apparent. Both the cushions and interior furnishings were all high-quality items.

Saena sat down in the chair, and Smila, her attending maid, followed and took her seat.

After traveling for quite some time, just when they seemed to be nearly there, something jumped out from a basket that was set aside.

“Waah!”

“Eek!”

Both Saena and Smila screamed in surprise. At their screams, the carriage suddenly stopped.

“Miss?!”

Rupert quickly opened the door to check inside, but upon seeing Yolly, he seemed to immediately understand the situation.

“…Hah. Did this one secretly follow us?”

She had packed several books related to language references in the basket thinking they might be needed for the Arlesian translation request, but who would have thought Yolly had hidden inside?

No wonder it had been hovering around the door and following her throughout the time she was preparing to go out, but she never imagined this would happen.

Saena sighed in exasperation.

“Yolly, why did you follow us here?”

When Saena questioned Yolly about the reason, it pretended not to understand and wagged its tail while playing innocent. But this attitude only made Saena more certain.

This creature definitely understands human speech.

‘I thought it wasn’t an ordinary animal from when we first met.’

What could it be…

Actually, pondering about it was unnecessary. Even if it was strange, she had no intention of sending it away, and there was no way to find out its true identity anyway.

It was easier to just assume it had its own reasons for following.

“We’re going to a VERY important person’s house, so stay still. You absolutely must not cause trouble or wander around. Understand?”

Looking at it crouching down with both feet together while tilting its head as if it didn’t understand anything made her exasperated again, but Saena warned it once more.

“If you don’t behave, I’ll leave you in the carriage, okay?”

The wagging tail stopped abruptly, and its ears drooped. Its upturned eyes were full of pathos. My goodness, what a coy creature.

The carriage stopped briefly before passing through the main gate of House Kramer’s townhouse.

Although House Kramer spent more time in their territory, being such a long-established ducal family meant their residence in the imperial capital had considerable grounds as well.

While House Debov was wealthy too, the atmosphere was very different. Unlike House Debov’s mansion which had a somewhat cute and classical feel, House Kramer’s exuded a magnificent and noble atmosphere.

The path lined with incredibly tall conifers starting from the main gate created a feeling of searching for a secret mansion hidden in a forest.

When the carriage door opened, the fresh scent of trees filled her lungs so completely that it felt like they had entered an outer forest rather than being in the middle of the imperial capital.

‘Wow, this is amazing.’

It felt so unfamiliar.

People had been somewhat excited when Elizabeth became the Duchess and wondered if Kramer’s townhouse would finally open, but while she was passionate about attending external parties, she never hosted any gatherings herself.

There had been all sorts of talk about that too.

“Miss. We’ve arrived. I’ll open the carriage door.”

“Thank you, Sir Rupert.”

She stepped down from the carriage with Rupert’s now quite familiar assistance.

She put Yolly back in the basket and entrusted it to Smila. She covered the top with cloth and warned ‘Stay still’ again, though she wasn’t sure if it would listen.

It hadn’t caused any serious trouble so far, so she had no choice but to trust it.

“Welcome, Lady Debov. I am Royter, who manages House Kramer’s townhouse. Welcome to House Kramer. I will inform His Grace of your arrival shortly, so please wait a moment.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

She followed Royter’s guidance. This must surely lead to the reception room. Rupert was guided separately to the knights’ waiting area and disappeared, while Smila followed behind with the basket.

Suddenly, Royter stopped and bowed his head before raising it again.

“Your Grace.”

Duke Kramer, whom he was going to inform, was already coming down the stairs.

Then…

Kiing–

The moment their eyes met, that strange resonating sound that she had experienced several times before stimulated her temples again.

Saena closed her eyes while holding her forehead.

Though it was just a very short time of a few seconds, it was long enough to create a gap in the timing for greetings, and only after that did the tightness that came like a headache subside.

As Saena slowly opened her eyes, she first had to face Smila’s urgent cry.

“Ah! Don’t come out!”

As soon as she turned toward Smila who was holding the basket behind her, a familiar ball of fur rushed into her arms. Yolly, who had escaped from the basket, had practically flown in a leap into Saena’s arms.

Thump.

“…Yolly?”

What mischief was this creature up to now?

Though it had rushed into her arms suddenly, once she became aware of her surroundings, she felt a chill in the atmosphere.

“Ah, I’m sorry. My puppy secretly snuck in…”

Saena turned toward the Duke with Yolly in her arms to apologize for the sudden commotion but found herself speechless.

Behind the Duke’s back, black energy seemed to leak out and began taking form. It grew large enough to fill the high-ceilinged lobby of the ducal residence.

A massive body with four legs, enormous pair of wings, luxuriant black mane flowing around its head, and a glowing mark on its forehead.

A giant black lion. It was Morev, House Kramer’s Guardian Spirit.

‘…No, something’s different…’

Though similar to Morev, something was different. The atmosphere felt alien, and even the shade of black differed.

The Morev that she had seen at the parade had a semi-transparent body, but the one before her eyes was nearly opaque and smaller in size.

‘…Well, they did say the size could be adjusted.’

Moreover, though she couldn’t express it exactly, the type of black energy forming its existence felt different somehow.